With it now looking likely that there will be a February presidential primary next year in California (adding a third election to the regular June primary and November general election), our political consultants are beginning the mad feeding frenzy for the cash laid out in any new round of ballot initiatives.
Yes, for some reason our Constitution allows ballot initiatives every time there’s an election. These animals called political consultants are completely unregulated and make big money off every dollar contributed to any campaign in the state.
What does the public get in return? In the couple of months before elections: vast amounts of negative television and radio ads in our eyes and ears and voluminous manipulative direct mail pieces in our mail boxes–especially pernicious are the misleading slate mail pieces that endorse all your favorite electeds linking them to the wrong position on a given initiative or two.
And in the slow times? Mystifying full page ads “thanking” Governor Schwarzenegger for his support.
Enough. It’s time to regulate these political parasites. I’d suggest taxing political consultants as a great funding source for public financing of elections if it didn’t ensure that every political consultant in the state dropped everything to defeat that idea.
Sigh. I gotta go. I have an urgent email to respond to from Ahamed Ahamed–apparently he’s got a sick brother and needs my help with a banking matter…